Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
by I'm sorry but no
Summary: What would you swear on? What would you risk everything for? A lover? A child? A family member? What would you do to protect them, those things you hold most dear? Would you kill someone? Would you sacrifice yourself, or someone else, to know they would be safe? Would you make a bargain, a deal, a promise you cannot keep? What would you do?
1. Chapter 1

**I know this is random and I know that I need to be writing chapter updates for the stories I haven't updated in a year or so but I'm having trouble with them so just hang on, okay? I'm trying I really am. Anyway this is the brainchild of an idle mind and half planned ideas. I literally made a list of chapter titles and said to myself "I'm going to write a story with these" so bare with me until chapter 3 because I'm proud of this but its not all done yet. That aside I do not own the characters but I do own the plot. I hope you enjoy!**

_Cross My Heart and Hope to Die_

What would you swear on? What would you risk everything for? A lover? A child? A family member?

What would you do to protect them, those things you hold most dear? Would you kill someone? Would you sacrifice yourself, or someone else, to know they would be safe? Would you make a bargain, a deal, a promise you cannot keep? Would you risk yourself on a bargain to keep someone safe, to keep them ignorant to the truth and the danger that they are faced with?

What would you do?

What would you do?

"What are you going to do with her? Why do you want her?" they yell from the ground, frightened for the girl next to me, chained by her hands a feet, gagged hanging from a chain wrapped around her waist.

"Nothing" they breath a sigh of relief, still wary of the girl's safety "but there is something I want from you"

"Anything!"

Do not make promises you cannot keep

The man sitting at the oak desk surrounded by piles of paper didn't so much as flinch as the door slammed open, hitting the wall from the force of entry, continuing to work as a frantic man came rushing in, yelling and cussing as though his life depended on it.

Finally looking up the crimson eyes of the desks occupant met the sight of his dear friend ranting and raving as he tugged on his long hair, pacing the room back and forth.

Having known the rude man for years his entrance was no longer surprising.

The man pacing the room had been his friend for many years now, having met him while living in England. He had long white hair, tousled from where his hands were imbedded into the strands as he pulled at it in frustration. He was mildly tall and, despite his stark white hair, relatively young, a mere 23 years of age. He was thin in a muscular sense and shockingly pale, as though he had never been outside.

As he continued to pace the room his jacket flared out behind him, the long tails of the otherwise normal suit jacket flying out, making the green, blue and black trim look as though it were water eating away at his coat. The suit itself was tailored to fit snuggly to his body, showing off his thin frame while his military metals swayed back and forth from his rapid movements, clinking together like coins in a pocket. As he paced his black leather dress shoes clacked against the marble flooring sounding like an off beat tap dance, the only sound coming from within the room aside from the cusses spewing from the man's mouth.

The man behind the desk, still unsurprised by the rude entrance, ran his hands through his own hair as he set down his feather quill back into the inkpot. His hair, unlike the others, was shorter but ran up his head in steep black spikes and exploding out and up. The black was outlined in a deep crimson, a shade darker than his irises, while golden yellow shot up from the center of his forehead looking very much like lightening bolts in the night sky, while several fell down around his face to make bangs. Rubbing at his face the man thought about what the white haired man had been called away for.

It had only been 2 hours since the ghostly man had left for a meeting regarding the mysterious deaths appearing throughout the kingdom and he still had work to do.

Men women and children had been turning up all over, from the countryside to the palace gardens with a deep wound over their heart shaped as a cross. Several had turned up each day for the past 3 months and no one could determine if it was a threat or some kind of serial killer that had sprung up.

But guessing from the reaction of the man before him the meeting had not gone as planned.

Rubbing at his temples in order to keep himself calm, the man behind the desk said, "I can see it went well?"

"It was rubbish! Absolute rubbish! They cannot agree with anything and refuse to listen to me!"

"What happened this time?" the man said as he rose from his chair walking over to the liquor cabinet next to his desk to fetch something strong for them to share.

"18 people showed up this morning, one from each of the noble families and their households. None of them are connected and each of them is blaming each other for the deaths! They haven't even tried to look for a solution, they just want to blame someone!"

"Ah" the man said as he turned around holding an old bottle of scotch and 2 glasses, his own black leather shoes clacking against the tiled floor as he made his way over to the couches to sit and relax for a moment.

Although not as tall as the white haired man the other was built the same way, a healthy kind of skinny that showed off his muscles without looking sickly. His deep red eyes scanned over his friend as he sat down on a velvet couch, waiting for the man to continue.

"They haven't even discussed how to protect the castle or the rest of the country for that matter! They didn't even try! They are so stuck up its sick! And don't even get me started on what they said about sending out guards and soldiers to protect the city! 'But how will we pay for that?' and 'why should we help them?' ugh I could scream!" "You already are" the man said from the couch taking a drink from his glass and relaxing back into the couch.

"Shut up Atemu its not funny" the white haired man said as he snatched the glass from Atemu's hand and drank the strong brown liquor down in one gulp

"Yes I know Bakura" Atemu sighed as he grabbed the other glass and poured some more scotch "but you really are screaming"

"Yeah well whatever!" Bakura shouted again as he picked up the bottle of scotch and drank from the bottle, collapsing onto the seat next to Atemu as he drank the liquor. "I don't understand why you didn't go, at least if you went they would stop arguing for a moment and pretend to want to get something done"

Atemu sighed, it was true that if he had gone down to the meeting something important would have at least been discussed but a sharp headache simply wouldn't let him concentrate on politics or a room of screaming men at the moment.

"I know, sorry for dumping that on you but I just couldn't handle it today"

"You owe me big time" Bakura mumbled as he took another swig from the glass decanter, holding the bottle by its neck as he spread his arms out across the back of the couch and rested his head on the cushion. "How's it going by the way?"

"I've been better. With all the work piling up I haven't had much time to just sit" Atemu cringed and held his head as a wave of pain ran wild through his head

"How's the head?" Bakura asked blunt as usual

"Nothing gets past you does it?" without waiting for the other to respond Atemu continued. "Its okay just a head ache is all"

"Good, don't need you passing out on me" Bakura said as he leaned up to take another swig holding the bottle out towards Atemu to take his own drink

Sighing and grabbing the bottle he starred at the coffee table without really looking at it, taking an undignified gulp from the bottle.

"Nothing we can really do though" Bakura said as he snatched the bottle back taking another long gulp

"But is this the only thing we can do? Sit and wait until its us?"

Bakura growled as he took another drink

"Well you're the king, Atemu, your word is law" Bakura said as he finished off the bottle, letting it drop to the tiled floor with a loud echoing clank, the cut glass bottle bouncing but not breaking.

Atemu sighed as he looked towards his desk, behind which, on a pillow, sat his crown. The golden winged headband-like crown glistening in the bright light from the midmorning sun. Off to the side on separate pillows were the ear cuffs that shot up to look like golden wings had grown from behind his ears. The rest of his golden jewelry was already on, all visible except for the golden bands that were stacked high on each arm and each leg that were hidden by the arms of his shirt and legs of his skinny black dress pants. His usual sets of earrings, a pair of low dangling earrings and 3 cartilage piercings for each ear, were clearly visible as he held his head with his hands buried deep into his hair.

Not that he resented being the king but Atemu simply did not want to be king, he wanted to go out and see the world rather than stay here for the world to watch. He was grateful, yes, but not happy with the life he had, especially when problems of this nature popped up. No amount of preparation or lessons had be thorough enough to make his job any easier and frankly he didn't know what to do most of the time, so worried that he would mess up that he often made himself sick.

"We need to start regular watches, tell the kingdom to stay inside and call the palace if anything seems suspicious" he said as he ran his hands down to rest on his neck. "That's the best we can do for now until whatever is causing this is identified".

"Sir yes sir" Bakura said in a mocking manner as he rose from his relaxed position to straighten his attire and inform the pompous lords and various nobility of their sovereign's decision. Although he may complain a lot Bakura was happy to be the king's advisor, especially since he got to keep an eye on Atemu.

Although Atemu was a sound and just ruler he had a tendency to put himself and his own needs on hold for the better of the country, a good trait but a trait that becomes bad when he skips meals and sacrifices sleep in order to get work done.

"Tell them there will be a meeting in an hour in the usual meeting place, we need to get things sorted as fast as we can" Atemu said as, he too, stood up and smoothed out his clean white button up shirt and black tie, his own jacket hung up on the coat rack in the corner, waiting for its owner to put it on.

Bakura nodded and snatched the empty bottle off the floor, placing it with the empty glasses on the round inlay table next to the couch. "Need any help putting all that on?" Bakura asked as he motioned with his head towards the three pillows containing the golden attire Atemu was expected to wear, remembering that some pieces were harder to put on than others, the ear clips especially.

Walking back to his desk Atemu looked at the pile of heavy golden ornamentations he had to put on. Although the amount he had to put on was few the intricacy of each piece made the assemblage infinitely harder to put on.

"I'd appreciate that," he said as he moved the pillows over to his desk before plopping down in his chair.

Bakura looked down at the gold and tried to reason out the best way to put it on the fastest and make sure it would stay on. Finally deciding to put the top band on first before the ear wings, Bakura put on his pair of crisp white gloves and picked up the band, not wanting to scratch or smudge the delicate gold.

Using the built in combs he slid the piece into place just behind Atemu's front bangs, making sure to center the eye decoration with the young ruler's hairline. Clipping the combs into place, one in the center and one just above each ear, he pulled the band gently to see if it would move. Seeing no problems, he grabbed the left ear wing and slid the curved edge around the back of Atemu's ear so that only the anchor could be seen. Doing the same on the right ear he then clipped the connecting chains from the ear cuffs to the center of the crown before connecting the middle and bottoms of the cuffs together with similar chains.

Seeing the crown fully secure he grabbed Atemu's jacket from its hanging place holding it behind the ruler in order for him to slip his arms through the sleeves.

Thanking him, Atemu watched as Bakura left to inform the other lords to prepare for the next meeting.

Sighing as he looked himself over in the mirror attached to the back of a closet door Atemu took in his appearance for the slightest imperfection with his attire. Everything seemed to be in order and his jacket had not a string out of place. The simple black suit hung close to his body in a modern fitted way, showing off his thin figure while still looking appropriately dressed. Like Bakura's, the jacket was decorated in extra embellishments, however his were yellow, orange and deep crimson, making his jacket look like a fire. In addition to the trim around the bottom of the jacket, there was some trim added to the cuffs, a thick red band around the wrists with a thin orange and yellow band above.

Deeming himself ready he buttoned the one button of his jacket, cinching the material lightly around his waist, before leaving the room. Walking with a purpose, Atemu walked down the lengthy and hollow hallways towards the meeting rooms.

Snatching an apple from a basket in the hallway, Atemu continued on his way, slowing his pace in order to enjoy his treat. Biting into the sweet fruit he continued on his way, putting his other hand in his pocket as he strolled down the hallways.

Finishing the apple he threw the core into a nearby trash bin and continued his walk, making a few turns before passing his bedroom.

Only now noticing he did not have his notebook he entered the room to retrieve it. Scanning the floor he navigated the room, searching for his notebook, finally spotting it on his desk. He grabbed the pocket sized black leather book, he placed it in his left breast pocket of his jacket and left satisfied that he had everything.

He exited the room walking down the hallway a little longer before taking a left and a right before arriving at the 2 large double doors, flanked on each side by heavily armed guards. They bowed as far as they could, only being able to bend slightly at the waists, before straightening and opening the doors for him to enter.


	2. Chapter 2

10/14/2013

**ITS UPDATE TIME! Hurray! I'm trying to be more regular with updates, I really am but college is getting to me. Lets just see how far I can go with this and hope for the best. **

Loose lips sink ships

Wanna know a secret?

Promise not to tell?

But a promise is only as good as the one who makes it or the one who keeps it. "I'll tell you a secret but you have to promise not to tell"

"What does that have to do with my son!" the woman yelled from down bellow, looking on in fear as her newborn son was clutched in my arms

"Everything"

Atemu entered the meeting place with an air of confidence and power, but not arrogance, fully aware of his power and station but unwilling to abuse it.

The room hushed as he walked in, the other occupants rising in respect as their monarch walked to the head of the table where Bakura was standing.

Waving his hand in a dismissive manner Atemu sat and the other men and women of the room joined him.

With a look Bakura rose and began the meeting. "This meeting has been called to further discuss the measures to be taken in order to protect the kingdom from this mysterious affliction. A plan needs to be made to protect the country in any way we can"

"But how can we protect what we cannot see nor catch?" a blue haired man asked from the other end of the table

"How can you stop something without trying?" another man, with brown hair and cold blue eyes, said from his place 2 seats away from the king "how can we simply make excuses for not doing anything?"

Nodding in agreement Atemu added "Seto has a point, we need to do something"

"With all do respects, my king, we also need to discuss the cost and effectiveness of this plan. How can we pay for all the extra protection?"

"I do not think that the cost is more important in this issue when a sixth of the population is dead" Bakura butted in, causing the room to go a-buzz with chatter.

Waiting until the room had quieted down Atemu turned to a woman towards the end of the table "Isis has anything come back on the cause of this?" Atemu asked one of the few women in the room.

The woman stood up her tan slender body covered in a long white dress with a white headscarf adorning her head. A golden eye necklace lay close to her throat and a thick gold belt glinted as she rose. "Yes my king. This is no disease and the wounds appear to have been created by a knife after the victim died. Its strange, aside from the wounds, there have been no correlations between the victims, no age range no specific gender or location where more victims have been taken or not taken. This is completely sporadic and it would be highly difficult to pinpoint a factor that would indicate if someone is next" she took a deep breath and then continued, "the wound seems to be the only things tying the victims together. On top of that eyewitnesses and loved ones of the deceased said that they were acting normal and had no signs of illness or have any other reasons as to why they may have been killed"

Atemu sighed, that was not what he wanted to hear. At least if it was a disease they could find a cure or if there was one killer they could track them down but without any deciding factors there was no way to tell.

"Thank you Isis" she bowed and returned to her seat, placing one hand on her necklace, touching the golden surface in an effort to comfort herself.

"Until we determine what relates all these people together we need to do everything in our power to protect those that are still alive" Atemu clasped his hands together resting them against his lips and continued "until then I do not want to hear about delays or fickle problems against the protection of my country"

"But my king-"

"Stop Abasi" Bakura said as he saw the haunted looking him Atemu's eyes. Although you couldn't tell by outside appearance Bakura knew that Atemu had reached his breaking point, his clasped hands covering the fact that he was biting lightly at his thumbnails, a nervous tick he had picked up over the years.

"Mert what do you think?" Atemu asked as he continued to stare at the table. The extraordinarily quiet and wise woman rose from her seat and the room went silent trying to hear her soft words.

"My king I believe the only action we can do at this point is to do what has been suggested and wait to see if a turning point is found. Until then I believe there is nothing we can do" she then bowed respectfully and sat down once again.

Atemu nodded his head and rose gracefully from his seat "meeting is adjourned" he said before he left the room, trying to get away from the nobles as quickly as possible.

Bakura rose and gave the orders to the guards. All the other nobles and members of court left the room at a leisurely pace, talking amongst themselves about what had just transpired.

Some had forgotten that Bakura was in the room when they started to speak ill of the king. "I cannot believe him! He wants to waste our money on those low servants? They don't even respect us so why should he care?"

"Because unlike you, Panya, he cares more about his people than he does himself"

"B-Bakura! I had no idea you were still here!"

"Yeah try telling me that bull some other time. How dare you accuse Atemu of not being a good ruler when you have no idea how to be kind to one person aside from your higher ups. I never want to hear another word come from your mouth. If I catch you or one of your friends talking about him again I will not hesitate to take out your tongue, do I make myself clear?" Bakura had at this point narrowed his eyes to slits and was glaring daggers at Panya.

Too scarred to speak she nodded bowed and left, sprinting away from the white haired man, knowing full well that he would keep his promise.

"He doesn't need anymore shit," he said to himself as he exited heading towards the only place Atemu would be.

Walking the familiar hallways towards the gardens he took a sharp turn and walked through a tall hedge to a private garden. The walls of the tall bushes allowed for privacy and the sound of fountains that were placed throughout the gardens allowed for conversations to be kept private.

Finding the king lying in the grass he could tell Atemu was more upset than he let on. This garden was a sanctuary of sorts when he was younger, running to hide here when he was yelled at, frustrated or scarred. But more often than not this garden was where the king went when he was sad. Upon the death of his father, the previous king, Atemu would not leave the garden for almost 2 days, only Bakura and Seto, who was also hiding in the garden, knew where he had disappeared off to.

Approaching slowly he plopped down in the grass next to the king, enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin for a while, simply providing his company. After knowing Atemu for as long as he had he knew that he wouldn't talk when he was upset until he was ready to.

Leaning his elbows onto his knees he sat quietly just enjoying the day.

"Have we really lost so many?" Atemu asked no one in particular looking up at the sky in a contemplative manner.

Not wanting to interrupt the king from his thoughts Bakura chose to just listen to what was bothering the young king. At least if Atemu was talking Bakura could figure out what had made him so upset.

"What kind of king am I? The people must hate me for not doing something sooner" he continued, "I mean how could they not? I'm here sitting happy and safe while they are watching their friends, neighbors, and family die and I cant do anything to calm their fears or stop this"

Sensing the dark emotions of self hatred beginning to surface Bakura continued to watch his friend paying more attention in case he had to intervene

"I'm not cut out for this, I've clearly failed and the people must hate-"

"Shut up Atemu" Bakura finally said, needing to calm his hysteric friend

"But why? You must hate m-"

"I said shut up!" Bakura yelled stunning Atemu into silence. "Do you really think so lowly of yourself!? Do you really think that your country thinks that you haven't been trying to help? Do you really think that?"

Bakura couldn't comprehend how someone could believe that by messing up or not knowing what to do would make everyone around them hate them "your people love you, believe me when I say this, they are thrilled to have you as their king. You are just and fair, you have not neglected anyone and you have improved the country tremendously over the past year as king. Of all the people I have met no one has ever said they were unhappy with your rule"

"But-"

"Stop" Bakura said angrily "believe in yourself a little more. Your father wasn't perfect and he was loved as well. The country understands that you cannot help, they just want you to do your best to try to find a solution"

"I feel so helpless" Atemu said as he curled into himself

Feeling awkward but still trying to help, Bakura pulled the king into a hug. Squeaking in surprise Atemu looked up at Bakura with a look of confusion.

"I'm not good at this comforting thing" Bakura mumbled as he released Atemu, avoiding eye contact at all costs "my mom would do this when I was upset so..."

Atemu chuckled slightly and Bakura glowered down at him "Thanks" Atemu said as he laid back down, appreciating the effort but feeling awkward all the same.

"What now?"

"Sit and wait I guess"

**PLEASE NOTE THAT BAKURA AND ATEMU ARE ****FRIENDS**** NOT LOVERS**


End file.
